DJing with Live 5 (old school DJ, new school LiveJ)

motionsiren · Post by **motionsiren** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:56 pm

Im a DJ of 6 years now. Drum & Bass, House, Techno, Whatever else I can get my hands on and seeing what can be done now with software, namely Live 5

im truly amaze at how much more freedom it's given me as an artist to twist the tracks and my sets however which way I dream.

A lot of people will bitch and say that this is terrible for the DJ... "Now everyone is going to be DJing!". Well sure, more people will probably get into it now, now that they don't have to drop a few grand on some decent TTs and Xone

. But what those folks have to understand is that DJing is still an art, no matter if you're on the 12" or the 1's and 0's. Live doesn't construct your set for you, it simply offers tools to eliminate the required, scriptable bits, such as beat matching. With less time beat matching (or to do it before you hit the stage) allows for more room for creativity.

So I stress to all those who want to knock Live and other software tools for killing the art. It's not! Don't worry

Our style(s) of music have always been pushing the limits, finding new sounds, methods and structures. Now the technology behind it is doing the same. We're evolving - Pushing against emptiness.

My goal in this thread, like a lot of good ones here, is to hear out everyones opinion and style of DJing with Live. Im a new comer to Live and Im still having trouble full grasping auto-warping (it seems peoples expamples, and even the "lessons" don't add up to what I have on my screen), how to setup a cue output for my headphones, etc. And I'd like to hear everyone out and share tips at a detailed level.

Im sorry I don't have more to offer you guys yet, but thats why Im starting this thread. my first question is:

With auto-warping (which, from what I understand is simply dragging the song file into your set while the 'warp' button is on) a full track, lets say a simple 4/4 house tune, I usually notice the 1.1.1 marker lined up in the center of the first bass kick. Is this considered the "downbeat"? I don't get what you people mean by downbeat, I would think it's the absolute last 0dB mark before the bass kick hits. I also notice that in tutorials, people have a ton of yellow markers, where I only have 1.1.1. Do I need to double click (making the marker yellow) each whole number (2,3,4,5...) and line it up with it's closest appropriate hit? Or should you simply set 1.1.1 and adjust each following mark without double clicking- which effects the entire track.

If auto-warp gets the BPM set perfectly, does all this marker setting play less of a role in auto-warp cataloging your tracks?

Im clearly confused as to how to think of this. It's interface is great, but much different then good 'ol viynl.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:30 pm

A lot of people will bitch and say that this is terrible for the DJ... "Now everyone is going to be DJing!". Well sure, more people will probably get into it now, now that they don't have to drop a few grand on some decent TTs and Xone

Everyone was a DJ before Ableton came out.... so this isn't going to really change anything.... except that it may actually mean that most DJs can finally beatmatch. If that is the only result.... that's enough to make me happy. I'm tired of hearing other people try to mix vinyl, and flub every mix in the process.

motionsiren · Post by **motionsiren** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:48 pm

subterFUSE wrote:
A lot of people will bitch and say that this is terrible for the DJ... "Now everyone is going to be DJing!". Well sure, more people will probably get into it now, now that they don't have to drop a few grand on some decent TTs and Xone

Everyone was a DJ before Ableton came out.... so this isn't going to really change anything.... except that it may actually mean that most DJs can finally beatmatch. If that is the only result.... that's enough to make me happy. I'm tired of hearing other people try to mix vinyl, and flub every mix in the process.

I know what you mean. When you take beat matching out of the equation, a lot of these DJs are greta. Good selection, good vibe, maybe just a little to tweaked or not enough jamsessions to polish there skills.

Another things.. DONT MASH YOUR EARS UP!!!! I see so many DJs crankin' there cans to 90% volume or higher... you're going to end your career quickly by doing that.

atomic · Post by **atomic** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 9:12 pm

[/quote]Another things.. DONT MASH YOUR EARS UP!!!! I see so many DJs crankin' there cans to 90% volume or higher... you're going to end your career quickly by doing that.[/quote]

I can not stress this enough. I have had constant ringing in the ears for over 15 years now and even though I now take very good care of my ears I think it is getting louder over time just due to the fact that I still work with sound on a day to day basis. I notice it every day without fail and it is there when I wake up and it is there when I go to sleep. It will never go away and it bothers me more and more each year. All I can say is take care of your yourself, i didn't and I so deeply regret it.

It is no joke.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:12 pm

The ringing is called "tinnitus" and there is no cure.

I have also noticed over many years of DJing that most DJs crank their headphones far too loud. I have never done this, because I always knew of the dangers of losing hearing. (My parents are both musicians, and my dad is now deaf in one ear)

I had an audiologist make me some musicians earplugs. Anytime I go to a loud club, I use them. They are great because they don't make the music sound overly muffled... but rather attenuate the frequencies that cause the most damage.

I've even used them while DJing, and it helps... especially when you have a noisy booth area with reflections. Helps clear the sound up for me tremendously.

motionsiren · Post by **motionsiren** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:33 pm

subterFUSE wrote:The ringing is called "tinnitus" and there is no cure.

I have also noticed over many years of DJing that most DJs crank their headphones far too loud. I have never done this, because I always knew of the dangers of losing hearing. (My parents are both musicians, and my dad is now deaf in one ear)

I had an audiologist make me some musicians earplugs. Anytime I go to a loud club, I use them. They are great because they don't make the music sound overly muffled... but rather attenuate the frequencies that cause the most damage.

I've even used them while DJing, and it helps... especially when you have a noisy booth area with reflections. Helps clear the sound up for me tremendously.

How much did your plugs run you? I think i may pick up a generic pair tonight before my gig. Good idea. to go deaf would render this passion nearly dead, at least the way I see it today.

Thanks for the stressing, I'm going to rethink my volumes and be more aware of it because of this thread.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:24 am

Musicians earplugs will cost you about $250-300... plus the price of the doctor visit where they make molds of your ear canals.

Generic plugs will help prevent hearing damage, but will also muffle the sound.

Musicians plugs attenuate the sound, without making it sound muffled.